Reported by Thuothuo Anthony-Jamhuri News
Amram Musungu is a 39-year-old Kenyan-born living in USA’s South Salt Lake region in Utah. Musungu was raised in Hamuyudi, Kenya, and has dual citizenship of both Kenya and USA.
Rising out of poverty and circumstance himself, Musungu says that for Kenyans to be able to get control of their country, they need an inspiring president, which he said he will be when elected the fifth president of the republic of Kenya.
“I will be the best president the country has ever had,” he told Deseret News.
Musungu says he has always believed he would become president and says confidently that he is sure this is the time.
“I’m in this race to win,” he said, adding that it might be easier to stay in Utah, work his job and spend time with his family. “But I want the best for Kenya, and every Kenyan should be proud of their country,” he said
To attain his education, Mr. Musungu would trek to school barefoot for an hour, a school which was really just a chalkboard nailed to a big shade tree. He would later spend his evening sleeping on banana leaves on the floor of his village hut. He wore his first pair of shoes when he was 15 years old, but that never kept him dreaming, studying hard to maintain his grades in school and changing his future.
Musungu, raised a Protestant, became a Mormon after meeting missionaries in Kenya in 1992 and served for 27 months in Kenya. His family and neighbors assisted him in relocating to Utah shortly after.
He attended University of Utah and Westminster College to attain his multiple degrees and certifications. He currently works as a financial auditor/accountant and is married with two children aged four and eight.
Musungu talks passionately about how he’s spent countless hours pondering the corruption and political unrest happening in Kenya, and his daily worries about the country’s national security, unemployment, economic turmoil and poor education reform. This makes his manifesto and says he will fix it with the help of Kenyans.
He believes that God wants him to relocate back to Kenya and make necessary changes needed to elevate the East African nation. “I want every Kenyan to have a better life,” he said.
Musungu will be facing seven other candidates, and he has settled on a female running mate that he will soon be naming. Integrity, high morals, and transparency are Musungu’s first priorities. “The nonsense is over,” he said.
Musungu is asking both Kenyans and Utahns for support to help fund his campaign, ”perhaps out of business interests in the country or to help fellow men”.
“Some would call this a long shot, but it’s a real shot,” he said.
He is a former member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and leader among the local African refugee community, and he started local Swahili branch of the LDS Church.
He says the gospel has taught him that nothing is impossible and that he only wants to spread peace and prosperity.
“I love Kenya,” Musungu said. “It is a very good country, and Kenyans have a good reputation wherever they go. It is selfish for me to stay in America.” He said in his interview with Deseret News.
